Method and system for including security information with a packet

ABSTRACT

A method and system for including security information with a packet is disclosed. A packet is detected as it exits a first network and enters a second network. The first network is configured to support a network security technique, and the second network is not configured to support the network security technique. Network security information associated with the network security technique is included with the packet. A network device is configured to include network security information in overhead of a packet. A method for identifying a first network device in a network is also disclosed. Identification information of the first network is communicated to a second network device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of providing security within anetwork, and more particularly relates to a method and system forsupporting security within a network by including information related tothe security of a network within a packet.

2. Description of the Related Art

The rapid increase in the size and complexity of networks continuallycreates new security challenges. Furthermore, the advent of newtechnologies can result in new security vulnerabilities, while thenumber of security threats that can potentially exploit thesevulnerabilities is constantly increasing. This is true of all manner ofnetworks, including enterprise networks, service provider networks, andthe like. Thus, the need for securing networks is increasing, and at thesame time, providing security for networks is becoming more and moredifficult.

In an effort to keep up with the increasing need for security withinnetworks, network administrators typically upgrade network software andhardware on a regular basis. Upgrading an entire network can beexpensive and time consuming; therefore, administrators often updatenetworks by upgrading one region of the network at a time. Upgrading anetwork one region at a time can create new security challenges. Such anapproach leaves portions of the network unprotected from securitythreats, which can result in compromising the security of the entirenetwork.

Network administrators also face additional challenges when transferringdata across a network that does not support a procedure for providingsecurity within the network. For example, many enterprise networksconnect to remote networks by using the Internet as a transportingnetwork. In this configuration, virtual private networks are oftenimplemented to provide network security. Virtual private networkstypically use tunneling to create a private network across the Internet.Tunneling is the process of encapsulating a packet with a header that isunderstood by the transporting network and the tunnel endpoints. Inother words, the packet's original header is encapsulated by a headerthat is added by the tunneling protocol, and the transporting networksees only the new header. Tunneling can be used to transport a packetthat uses a protocol not supported on a network to send the packet oversuch a network.

Unfortunately, implementing tunneling in a network also has itsdisadvantages. For example, networks that implement tunneling aredifficult to manage and tend to lack scalability. These challenge aredue, at least in part, to the point-to-point nature of tunneling and theconfiguration overhead associated with implementing the tunnel. Eachtunnel head and end needs to know all the tunnel destination points.Furthermore, to be effective, a network that implements tunnelingtypically needs a mesh of tunnels. Thus, to implement tunneling in anetwork, routing in the network needs to be re-worked in order toforward traffic down the tunnels appropriately.

What is needed, then, is a scalable solution for maintaining thesecurity of a network across a portion of a network that does notsupport a procedure for providing security within the network. Theapproach should be able to provide security within a network in a mannerthat does not require the point-to-point transmission of information.Preferably, such an approach could be implemented in a portion of thenetwork at a time. The approach should be implemented without incurringa disproportionate administrative burden or consuming inordinately largeamounts of network resources, while at the same time the approach shouldbe able to work with existing and future network protocols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and numerous objects,features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art byreferencing the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating security information within a headerof the packet according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of handling networksecurity information according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a network device according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of encrypting a packetaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following is intended to provide a detailed description of anexample of the invention and should not be taken to be limiting of theinvention itself. Rather, any number of variations may fall within thescope of the invention, which is defined in the claims following thedescription.

Introduction

The present invention addresses the limitations outlined above byproviding a method and system that includes security information withinthe overhead of a packet in order to provide security in a network. Inone embodiment of the present invention, a first secure network (i.e., anetwork that supports a network security technique) sends a packet to asecond secure network via an unsecure network (i.e., a network that doesnot support the network security technique of the secure network.)Before exiting the first secure network, security information can beincluded in overhead of the packet. Two different types of securityinformation can be included in the packet overhead: information relatedto the security of the network (network security information), andinformation related to the security of the packet (packet securityinformation). The procedure for including network security informationwith a packet differs in some regards from the procedure for includingpacket security information with a packet; therefore, the procedures areintroduced separately.

Network security information is used to implement a network securitytechnique of a secure network. According to an embodiment of the presentinvention, network security information is included with a packet when asecure network transfers a packet to another secure network via anunsecured network. The transfer of user data from one network node toanother network node is facilitated by the use of a communicationsmodel, such as the open systems interconnect (OSI) model, for example.While the examples presented herein are discussed in terms of the OSImodel, it will be noted that the present invention can be implemented inother communication models and routable protocols, such as internetpacket exchange (IPX), systems network architecture (SNA), AppleTalk™,and other such communication models and protocols.

The OSI model sets forth a seven-layer protocol stack and describes howcontrol of user data is passed from one protocol layer to the next. Asthe user data passes through certain protocol layers, the user data isencapsulated with a header that is specific to the protocol layer. Theinformation (which includes encapsulation headers and other routinginformation) added to the packet during the transmission process isreferred to herein as packet overhead. In other words, packet overheadis any information in a packet other that the revenue-generating userdata.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, network securityinformation is included in a packet such that the network securityinformation is not available to network devices within an unsecurenetwork while being accessible to network devices on a perimeter of asecure network. Furthermore, the network security information isincluded in the packet such that the network security information istransparent to routing devices of the network. As discussed herein,network security information in a packet's overhead is transparent to anetwork device if the presence of the security information does notaffect the packet forwarding or processing performed by the device. Forexample, if the unsecure network is a layer-2 network (of the OSI model)and perimeter devices of the secure network are layer-3 routers,security information can be included in a layer-3 header of the packet.The layer-3 routers can access and process the network securityinformation, and layer-2 switches of the unsecure network can forwardthe packet as though the network security information were not presentin the packet.

As a packet travels from the secure network to the unsecure network, aperimeter device (e.g., a layer-3 router) on the perimeter of the securenetwork detects that the packet is entering an unsecure network. Thelayer-3 router also determines whether the packet, after traversing theunsecure network, will be routed through another router capable ofprocessing the network security information. In one embodiment, thisdetermination can be made by determining if all the devices on theperimeter of a destination network of the packet are capable ofprocessing the network security information. The layer-3 router includesnetwork security information with the packet if the packet will be sentthrough another router capable of processing the network securityinformation.

As previously mentioned, packet security information, instead of networksecurity information, can be included with a packet that is exiting asecure network and entering an unsecure network. Before exiting thesecure network, a perimeter device of the secure network makes adetermination as to whether the packet will eventually be processed byanother device capable of parsing the packet security information. Inone embodiment, the perimeter device of the secure network encrypts thepacket and includes packet security information, such as encryptioninformation, in the overhead of the packet.

Key advantages of the present invention include providing a scalablesolution for propagating security information across an unsecurenetwork. The present invention does not require modification of anetwork's routing topology, and the principles of the present inventioncan be implemented to leverage existing management and policyinfrastructure for storing and distributing the security information.Thus, a network administrator can incrementally upgrade selective areasof the network, while continuing to support network security throughoutthe network.

Including Security Information with the Packet

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture 100 according toembodiments of the present invention. Network architecture 100 includesa network 110, a network 120, and a network 130, which are securenetworks. Network architecture 100 also includes a network 140, anetwork 150, a network 160, and a network 170, which are unsecurenetworks. It is noted that the term ‘network’ is used herein to refer toa data communication system that transmits data from one network node toanother network node. Such a network can be an enterprise network, aservice provider network, or the like. Furthermore, the network caninclude a single node or multiple nodes. The network can also be a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), or regions within such networks (e.g., sub-networks).

As shown in FIG. 1, a client 102 is connected to network 110. Totransmit a packet from client 102 to client 104 or client 106, thepacket is first routed through network 110. As previously mentioned,network 110 is a secure network. A secure network provides networksecurity by implementing one or more of a variety of network securitytechniques. For example, a secure network can provide intrusionprotection, secure connectivity, perimeter security, identity services,access control, security management services, or other such networksecurity techniques.

Routers that are capable of adding and removing security informationfrom the overhead a packet are referred to herein assecurity-information-processing (SIP) routers. Routers that are notcapable of adding and removing security information form the overhead ofa packet are referred to herein as non-SIP routers. Network architecture100 includes a router 180, a router 182, a router 184, a router 188, arouter 190, a router 194, and a router 196, all of which are SIProuters. Other routers in network architecture are a router 186 and arouter 192, which are non-SIP routers.

After traversing network 110, the packet is processed by router 180.Router 180 makes a two-fold analysis to determine whether to insertsecurity information into a header of the packet. The analysis includesdetermining (1) whether the packet is entering an unsecure network, and(2) whether the packet will be processed by an SIP router aftertraversing the unsecure network. If the packet is entering an unsecurenetwork and will be processed by an SIP router after exiting theunsecure network, router 180 can include security information with thepacket. The packet is being routed through network 150, an unsecurenetwork, and will be processed by either router 184 or router 186, whichare both SIP routers; therefore, router 180 inserts security informationinto the overhead of the packet. The security information is inserted ina location within the packet overhead that makes the securityinformation transparent to non-SIP routers, inaccessible to deviceswithin unsecure networks, and accessible to SIP routers. For an exampleof the manner in which security information can be included with apacket, see patent application Ser. No. ______ Atty. Docket No.CIS0228US______, filed ______, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INCLUDINGNETWORK SECURITY INFORMATION WITH A FRAME,” having Norman W. Finn andMichael R. Smith as inventors, which is hereby incorporated byreference, in its entirety and for all purposes.

As previously mentioned, the security information can either be packetsecurity information or network security information. Network securityinformation can be a user group identifier (e.g., a security group tag),or other information related to the security of a network. Packetsecurity information can include an encryption group tag, integritycheck information, or other information related to the security of thepacket. In one embodiment, router 180 encrypts the packet and includesencryption information in overhead of the packet.

The packet traverses network 150 and arrives at router 184, for example.Router 184 detects that the packet is exiting an unsecure network(network 150) and entering a secure network (network 120). When a packet(with network security information in packet overhead) exits an unsecurenetwork and enters a secure network, the network security informationcan be moved to a new location in the packet overhead. Thus, router 184moves the network security information to a new location in the packetoverhead to make the security information accessible to the networkdevices within secure networks. In an alternative embodiment, router 184can completely remove the security information from the packet. If thepacket had been encrypted by router 180, router 184 could use theencryption information to decrypt the packet.

The packet traverses network 120 and is received by router 188. In oneexample, the packet is addressed to client 106 and will traverse network160, an unsecure network, en route to client 106. Router 188 will removesecurity information from a packet if the packet is entering an unsecurenetwork and the packet will not be processed by an SIP router afterexiting the unsecure network. Router 190, an SIP router, and router 192,a non-SIP router, are the routers on the perimeter of network 170. Thepacket could be processed by either of router 190 or router 192 beforeentering network 170; therefore, router 188 removes the securityinformation from the packet because of the possibility that the packetwill be processed by a non-SIP router. Finally, the packet traversesnetwork 160, and after being processed by either router 190 or router192, the packet traverses network 170 and arrives at client 106.

In another example, the packet is addressed to client 104. Router 188detects that the packet will be processed by either router 194 or router196 after traversing network 160; therefore, router 188 moves thesecurity information to a location within the packet that is notaccessible to devices within network 160 and is accessible to router 194and router 196. After traversing network 160, the packet is processed byeither router 194 or router 196. Because the packet is entering a securenetwork (network 130), the router that processes the packet can move thenetwork security information to a location that is accessible to deviceswithin network 130. Finally, the packet travels through network 130 andarrives at client 104.

In yet another example, the packet egresses network 150 through router182. If the packet is addressed to client 106, router 182 determinesthat the packet will not necessarily be processed by another SIP router.This is because the packet will be processed by router 186, and afterleaving network 160, the packet might be processed by router 192. Bothrouter 186 and router 192 are non-SIP routers, and as such are not ableto process the security information. However, if the packet is addressedto client 104, router 102 determines that the packet will be processedby another SIP router. This determination can be made by recognizingthat the perimeter of network 130 (the network of client 104) iscompletely secured by SIP routers. It is noted that the packet will passthrough a non-SIP router, router 186, before entering network 160. Aspreviously mentioned, the security information is included in the packetsuch that the security information is transparent to non-SIP routers.Thus, router 186 can forward the packet, even though router 186 cannotunderstand or process the security information.

Role Based Access Control

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the networksecurity technique is role based access control. For an example of howrole based access control is used to enforce network security, seepatent application Ser. No. 10/659,614, filed Sep. 10, 2003, entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING NETWORK SECURITY USING ROLE-BASEDACCESS CONTROL,” having Michael R. Smith as inventor, which is herebyincorporated by reference, in its entirety and for all purposes. In theexample of role based access control, the security information to beincluded with a packet is a user group identifier (UGI). The securitygroup to which the source of a packet belongs is classified at theingress of a network. The group membership is carried in a UGI in thepacket from a classification point to a policy enforcement point at thenetwork egress. A packet that includes a UGI in a header of the packetis referred to herein as a UGI-tagged packet. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the UGI is a security group tag.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture 200 according toembodiments of the present invention. The following is an example of howthe principles of the present invention can be implemented to transporta UGI through a network that is unsecure with respect to role basedaccess control. In this example, a network 210, and a network 250 arelayer-2 networks with layer-2 devices capable of forwarding UGI-taggedpackets (i.e., secure layer-2 networks). A network 220, a network 230,and a network 240 are layer 2 networks with layer-2 devices that are notconfigured to forward UGI-tagged packets (i.e., unsecure layer-2networks). Network architecture also includes a router 260, a router262, a router 266 and a router 268, which are layer-3 routers that arecapable of adding and removing UGIs to and from a layer-3 header of apacket. Also included is a router 264, which is not capable of adding orremoving a UGI from the layer-3 overhead.

Client 202 includes a UGI in a layer-2 header of the packet beforetransmitting the packet to network 210. The UGI, which is associatedwith the security user group of client 202, is typically obtained duringan authentication process. The authentication process can be initiated,for example, when a user attempts to log into client 102. The user (notshown) causes client 202 to act as a supplicant to send a start messageto an authenticator. The authenticator responds to client 202 with arequest/identify message, to which client 202 responds with aresponse/identity message. The authenticator passes this information toan authentication server. A variety of exchanges subsequently occurbetween the authenticator and the authentication server, and during theexchanges the authenticator can obtain a UGI associated with client 202from the authentication server. This authentication process also allowsfor the dissemination of network security information to various othernetwork devices. User group identifiers can be downloaded to the routersin network architecture 200, or to other network devices within thenetworks.

For a more thorough discussion of how a user group identifier can begenerated and obtained, see patent application Ser. No. 10/970,532,filed Oct. 21, 2004, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING USERGROUP IDENTIFIERS,” having Michael R. Smith as inventor, which is herebyincorporated by reference, in its entirety and for all purposes.

As previously mentioned, client 202 obtains a UGI, includes the UGI withthe packet, and transmits the packet to network 210. After traversingnetwork 210, the packet is processed by router 260. In one embodiment,router 260 provides role based access control and can use the UGI todetermine whether the packet should be forwarded or dropped. The routercan determine whether to forward or drop the packet by using the UGI anda UGI permissions list stored on the router. If the UGI permissions listindicates that the packet is allowed to be forwarded to its destination,router 180 removes the UGI from the packet and forwards the packet. Ifthe permissions list indicates that the packet is not allowed to beforwarded to its destination (i.e., is to be denied), the packet isdropped.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, router 260determines whether the destination client, client 204, is connected to anetwork whose perimeter devices are capable of adding and removing UGIsfrom a packet. Client 104 is connected to network 250. The perimeterdevices of network 250 are router 266 and router 268, which are bothrouters capable of adding and removing UGIs from packets. Therefore,router 260 moves the UGI from a layer-2 header and includes the UGI withthe packet in a layer-3 header, for example.

After being processed by router 260, the packet traverses network 220and arrives at either router 264 or router 262. If the packet isprocessed by router 262, the packet traverses network 230 and arrives atrouter 266. If the packet is processed by router 264, the packettraverses network 240 and arrives at router 268. Either of router 226and router 268, after receiving the packet, can move the UGI from thelayer-3 header to a layer-2 header of the packet. The packet issubsequently forwarded through network 150 and received at client 104.It is noted that the packet can be sent through router 264, which isable to process the packet because the UGI is transparent to router 264.When the packet is processed by router 262, router 262 can perform rolebased access control on the packet. Router 262 can also forward thepacket without processing the UGI information. In another embodiment,router 266 and router 268 are security policy enforcement points capableof performing role based access control.

While packets are used herein as an example of a data communicationmechanism, the principles of the present invention are not limited topackets. The present invention can also be applied to frames or otherunits of data transfer that are used to carry information from onenetwork node to another network node. Furthermore the present inventioncan be applied within layers of the OSI model other than the second andthird layers.

It will be appreciated that the present invention allows a network to beupgraded over time to support role based access control. Without thepresent invention, the layer-2 devices within unsecure networks cannotprocess a packet that includes a UGI; therefore, the UGI needs to bedropped before the packet enters the unsecure network and implementationof the network security policy is thus weakened. The UGI can be carriedin the packet hop-by-hop across an unsecure network, but this approachrequires that the links along the path are updated to understand andprocess the UGI. Tunneling can also be implemented, but also requires anupgrade in hardware and a change in routing topology.

As will be appreciated in the examples presented herein, the presentinvention overcomes the disadvantages of other solutions. The presentinvention does not require a change in routing topology and does nothave the point-to-point characteristic of tunneling. For example, theembodiments presented with respect to FIG. 2 show how a packet cantraverse two different paths en route to a destination. Also, it islikely that a customer will gradually upgrade network hardware andsoftware over time instead of upgrading the entire network all at once.The present invention provides for the preservation of a UGI in a packetthat traverses a partially upgraded network by including the UGI in alayer-3 header of the packet. These partially upgraded areas within anetwork can be data centers, individual buildings, individual sites, orother networks or portions of a network.

Security Information Management

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture 300 according toembodiments of the present invention. Network architecture includes tworouters, a router 360 and a router 362, that are not capable of addingor removing security information. The security information can beincluded in a packed as a ‘shim.’ In the present disclosure, shim refersto the extra security information that is inserted into a packet. In oneembodiment, a router 350 and a router 352 are shimmers (routers capableof inserting security information into a packet as a shim). Networkarchitecture 300 also includes a router 356 and 358, which arede-shimmers, or routers that are capable of removing a shim from apacket. Network architecture 300 includes one secure network, a network310. Network architecture 300 also includes a network 320, a network330, and a network 340, which are unsecure networks. Network 320 isdifferent from the other networks because all of the perimeter devicesof network 320 are de-shimmers; therefore, a packet that includes a shim(shimmed packet) can be sent to network 320. When all of the perimeterdevices of a network are de-shimmers, the network is referred to hereinas a shim-qualified network.

Network architecture 300 also includes an identification informationlist 380 within a management station 370. The identification informationlist 380 contains information that identifies devices withinshim-qualified networks. In FIG. 3, the only shim-qualified network isnetwork 320. Therefore, identification information list 380 onlyidentifies devices in network 320. The identification information can beprefixes, network addresses, or other information that identifies anetwork or a network device. In an alternative embodiment, theidentification information list contains identification information fornetwork nodes or portions of a network that are not capable ofencrypting a packet or processing security information.

As a packet travels from network 310 to network 320, the packet willfirst be processed by router 350 or router 352. The router thatprocesses the packet determines whether to include security informationwith the packet. To make this determination, the router comparesinformation from identification information list 380 to informationwithin overhead of the packet, such as a destination address of thepacket. The packet is addressed to a device within network 320, ashim-qualified network; therefore, a security shim is included with thepacket.

A security administrator can generate identification information list380. The security administrator manually configures identificationinformation list 380 with prefixes and device addresses that are withinnetwork 320. The shimmers, router 350 and router 352, download theidentification information list from the management station. In analternative embodiment, interfaces of the shimmers in the shim-qualifiednetwork are marked as shimmable, and routes learned through theseinterfaces are considered shimmable routes. De-shimmers automaticallyupdate identification information list 380 with the prefixes thatdesignate the shim-qualified network. The shimmers then automaticallydownload identification information list 380 from management station370.

It is noted that the foregoing approaches to creating, maintain, anddistributing identification information list 380 provide the advantageof using only management station 370, the shimmers, and the de-shimmersto manage the identification information list 380. Another advantage ofthe foregoing embodiments is that the identification information listonly needs to be updated when there is a network design change, but notwhen there is only a temporary topology change in the network.Furthermore, an existing management policy can be modified and used toimplement the foregoing principles in a network.

According to another embodiment, an existing routing protocol can beused to communicate identification information of shim-qualifiednetworks to the shimmers. Device interfaces of devices within theshim-qualified networks are marked as shimable. The network prefixes ofthe shim-qualified network are learned from routing through the deviceinterfaces. Thus, when a de-shimmer advertises routes (for prefixeswithin the shim-qualified network), the de-shimmer can designate a routeas a shimmable route. When a shimmer sends a packet over a route that isdesignated as a shimmable route, the shimmer includes a shim with thepacket. In one embodiment, the routing protocol is the Open ShortestPath First (OSPF) protocol and the prefixes are distributed using linkstate advertisements (LSAs).

In another embodiment, a new distribution protocol can be used tocommunicate identification information of shim-qualified networks to theshimmers. As mentioned in the previous embodiment, the prefixes withinthe shim-qualified network learned from routing are propagated toshimmers within the network. In one embodiment, the new distributionprotocol uses one bit to indicate that an interface is shimmable.

After obtaining identification information of shim qualified networks,the identification information is made accessible to shimmers and othernetwork devices. In one embodiment, the identification information isincluded in an access control list. A shimmer can compare a destinationaddress (or portion of a destination address) of a packet to theidentification information in the access control list to determinewhether the packet will routed through a shim-qualified network.

Instead of including the identification information in an access controllist, the identification information can be included in a forwardingtable. The forwarding table can then be used by shimmer's to determinewhether a packet will be routed through a shim-qualified network. It isnoted that the present invention is well suited to leverage centralpolicy servers or management stations to store and distribute theshim-qualified prefixes or addresses to all the shimmers and de-shimmersin the network.

In one embodiment, de-shimmers can provide additional security byverifying that all packets coming from shimmers include shims within thepacket overhead. The de-shimmer can obtain source addresses of deviceslocated within a network bordered by shimmers. The de-shimmer can checkwhether a packet comes from such a network, and if so, the packet shouldhave a shim. If the packet does not include a shim, the packet can bedropped; or, if the security information in the shim is a UGI, thepacket can be given a default UGI. Furthermore, a packet that arriveswithout a shim can be given a UGI if the packet came from a network thatwas not capable of adding shims.

Network architecture 300 also illustrates that the present invention canbe implemented by upgrading one network at a time. Network 340 is anunsecure, non-shim qualified network (i.e., a network that has not beenupgraded to support the network security technique of the securenetwork). A network administrator can first upgrade the perimeter of anetwork with shimmers, while leaving the network itself as an unsecurenetwork. An example of a network in this stage of the upgrade process isnetwork 320. Then, the network can be updated to be a secure network; inother words, the devices within the network can be upgraded to be ableto process shimmed packets. An example of such a network is network 310.Finally, the core network, such as network 330, can be upgraded withhardware and software that support processing shimmed packets. Sincethere is no single well-defined shim termination point for a shimmedpacket, a network administrator should be careful to ensure that shimmedpackets are not able to leave the network without having the shimremoved. Thus, the present invention provides a scalable solution forcarrying security information across an unsecure network.

In an alternative embodiment, the entire network perimeter is upgradedwith shimmers. This solution eliminates the need to ensure that ashimmed packet will be processed by a de-shimmer before arriving at itsdestination. However, this approach does not give the networkadministrator the flexibility of gradually updating the network overtime.

Regarding the signals described herein, those skilled in the art willrecognize that a signal may be directly transmitted from a first blockto a second block, or a signal may be modified (e.g., amplified,attenuated, delayed, latched, buffered, inverted, filtered or otherwisemodified) between the blocks. Although the signals of the abovedescribed embodiments are characterized as transmitted from one block tothe next, other embodiments of the present invention may includemodified signals in place of such directly transmitted signals as longas the informational and/or functional aspect of the signal istransmitted between blocks. To some extent, a signal input at a secondblock may be conceptualized as a second signal derived from a firstsignal output from a first block due to physical limitations of thecircuitry involved (e.g., there will inevitably be some attenuation anddelay). Therefore, as used herein, a second signal derived from a firstsignal includes the first signal or any modifications to the firstsignal, whether due to circuit limitations or due to passage throughother circuit elements which do not change the informational and/orfinal functional aspect of the first signal.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating security information within a headerof the packet according to embodiments of the present invention. Thepacket includes a header 410, which includes security information 430.Header 410 is followed by a header 420 and by a data field 440. In oneembodiment, header 410 is a layer-2 header and header 420 is a layer-3header. The security information can be included in the layer-2 headerafter the link/type field of the frame. The link/type field value canindicate the presence of security information in the frame. Thus, if anetwork device understands the link/type field value, the network devicewill be able to parse the frame.

The present invention also includes numerous other embodiments forincluding security information in a layer-2 header. For example, thesecurity information can be included in the header of the frame, and aheader length field can then be used to indicate the presence of thesecurity information in the header. In other embodiments, the securityinformation can be included in a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS)header, an 802.1q tag, a security header, or other portion of a frame.As with the link/type field example, in any embodiment of the presentinvention the security information is included in the frame in a mannerthat allows another device in the network to parse the frame.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a packet with security informationaccording to embodiments of the present invention. When securityinformation is moved from a first header to a second location in packetoverhead, the second location can be another header, such as header 420.While security information 430 is shown in FIG. 4B to be included at anend of header 420, security information 430 can also be included afterheader 420 and before data 440. Security information can also be movedfrom header 420 back to header 410.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of handling networksecurity information according to embodiments of the present invention.First, a network device detects a packet exiting a first network (step500). This detection can occur when the network device receives thepacket. At this point, the network device can determine whether thefirst network was a secure network. The network device then determineswhether the packet, before arriving at a destination, will be processedby another network node capable of processing network securityinformation (step 510). As previously described, the determination canbe made using identification information. If the network devicedetermines that the packet will be routed through another network nodecapable of processing the network security information, the networkdevice includes network security information with the packet (step 520).Then, the packet is received at the network node (step 530), and thenetwork node processes the network security information (step 540).

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of encrypting a packetaccording to embodiments of the present invention. First, a networkdevice detects a packet exiting a first network (step 600). The networkdevice determines whether the packet, before arriving at a destination,will be processed by a network node capable of decrypting the packet.(Step 610). If the network device determines that the packet will beprocessed by a network node capable of decrypting the packet, thenetwork device encrypts the packet and includes encryption informationin overhead of the packet (step 620). In one embodiment, network devicescapable of encrypting and decrypting packets share a group securityassociation such that a packet encrypted with the group key can bedecrypted by any decrypting device. The packet is received at thenetwork node (step 630), and the network node can decrypt the packet(step 640). As will be appreciated, other methods of securing the packetcan be employed in a process according to the present invention, such asthat described in connection with FIG. 6, including digital signaturesand the like.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a network device. In thisdepiction, network device 700 includes a number of line cards (linecards 702(1)-(N)) that are communicatively coupled to a forwardingengine 710 and a processor 720 via a data bus 730 and a result bus 740.Line cards 702(1)-(N) include a number of port processors 750(1,1)-(N,N)which are controlled by port processor controllers 760(1)-(N). It willalso be noted that forwarding engine 710 and processor 720 are not onlycoupled to one another via data bus 730 and result bus 740, but are alsocommunicatively coupled to one another by a communications link 770.

When a packet is received, the packet is identified and analyzed by anetwork device such as network device 700 in the following manner,according to embodiments of the present invention. Upon receipt, apacket (or some or all of its control information) is sent from the oneof port processors 750(1,1)-(N,N) at which the packet was received toone or more of those devices coupled to data bus 730 (e.g., others ofport processors 750(1,1)-(N,N), forwarding engine 710 and/or processor720). Handling of the packet can be determined, for example, byforwarding engine 710. For example, forwarding engine 710 may determinethat the packet should be forwarded to one or more of port processors750(1,1)-(N,N). This can be accomplished by indicating to correspondingone(s) of port processor controllers 760(1)-(N) that the copy of thepacket held in the given one(s) of port processors 750(1,1)-(N,N) shouldbe forwarded to the appropriate one of port processors 750(1,1)-(N,N).

In the foregoing process, network security information can be includedin a frame sourced by network device 700 in a number of ways. Forexample, forwarding engine 710 can be used to detect the need for theinclusion of network security information in the packet, and processor720 can be called into service to provide the requisite network securityinformation. This network security information can be included in thepacket during the transfer of the packet's contents from one of portprocessors 750(1,1)-(N,N) to another of port processors 750(1,1)-(N,N),by processor 720 providing the requisite information directly, or viaforwarding engine 710, for example. The assembled packet at thereceiving one of port processors 750(1,1)-(N,N) can thus be made tocontain the requisite network security information.

In addition, or alternatively, once a packet has been identified forprocessing according to the present invention, forwarding engine 710,processor 720 or the like can be used to process the packet in somemanner or add packet security information, in order to secure thepacket. On a node sourcing such a packet, this processing can include,for example, encryption of some or all of the packet's information, theaddition of a digital signature or some other information or processingcapable of securing the packet. On a node receiving such a processedpacket, the corresponding process is performed to recover or validatethe packet's information that has been thusly protected.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from this invention and its broader aspects and,therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the scope of thisinvention. Moreover, while the invention has been particularly shown anddescribed with reference to these specific embodiments, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and otherchanges in the form and details may be made therein without departingfrom the invention.

1. A method comprising: detecting a packet exiting a first network andentering a second network, wherein the first network is configured tosupport a network security technique, and the second network is notconfigured to support the network security technique; and includingnetwork security information with the packet, wherein the networksecurity information is associated with the network security technique.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the including network securityinformation with the packet further comprises: moving the networksecurity information from a first location in packet overhead to asecond location in the packet overhead, wherein the second location inthe packet overhead does not affect forwarding of the packet from thesecond network to a third network.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thefirst, second and third networks are layer-2 networks, the first networkand the second network are coupled with a first layer-3 router, and thesecond network and the third network are coupled with a second layer-3router.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second location in thepacket overhead does not affect the second layer-3 router's ability toprocess the packet; and the second layer-3 router is not configured toprocess the network security information.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein a layer-2 header of the packet comprises the first location inthe packet overhead, and a layer-3 header of the packet comprises thesecond location in the packet overhead.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the network security information comprises a security group tag.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether thepacket will be processed by a network node capable of processing thenetwork security information before reaching a destination of thepacket, wherein the network node is within a third network.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the determining further comprises:determining whether a perimeter device of the third network is capableof processing the network security information.
 9. The method of claim8, further comprising determining whether identification information ofthe third network matches routing information of the packet.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising: detecting the packet exiting thesecond network and entering a third network wherein the third networkemploys the network security technique; and processing the networksecurity information.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the processingthe network security information comprises at least one of: processingthe packet using role based access control, moving the network securityinformation to a layer-2 header of the packet, and removing the networksecurity information from the packet.
 12. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: obtaining the identification information, wherein theobtaining the identification information comprises a least one of:configuring an egress node of the first network to recognize theidentification information, using a network protocol to distribute theidentification information, and storing the identification informationat a management station.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the storingthe identification information at the management station furthercomprises: including the identification information in an identificationinformation list.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the identificationinformation is a destination prefix, and the routing information of thepacket is a portion of a destination address of the packet.
 15. Anapparatus comprising: means for detecting a packet exiting a firstnetwork and entering a second network, wherein the first network isconfigured to support a network security technique, and the secondnetwork is not configured to support the network security technique; andmeans for including network security information with the packet,wherein the network security information is associated with the networksecurity technique.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means forincluding network security information with the packet furthercomprises: means for moving the network security information from afirst location in packet overhead to a second location in the packetoverhead, wherein the second location in the packet overhead does notaffect forwarding of the packet from the second network to a thirdnetwork.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first, second andthird networks are layer-2 networks, the first network and the secondnetwork are coupled with a first layer-3 router, and the second networkand the third network are coupled with a second layer-3 router.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the second location in the packetoverhead does not affect the second layer-3 router's ability to processthe packet; and the second layer-3 router is not configured to processthe network security information.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, whereina layer-2 header of the packet comprises the first location in thepacket overhead, and a layer-3 header of the packet comprises the secondlocation in the packet overhead.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, whereinthe network security information comprises a security group tag.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 15, further comprising: means for determining whetherthe packet will be processed by a network node capable of processing thenetwork security information before reaching a destination of thepacket, wherein the network node is within a third network.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 21, wherein the means for determining furthercomprises: means for determining whether a perimeter device of the thirdnetwork is capable of processing the network security information. 23.The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for determiningwhether identification information of the third network matches routinginformation of the packet.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, furthercomprising: means for detecting the packet exiting the second networkand entering a third network wherein the third network employs thenetwork security technique; and means for processing the networksecurity information.
 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the meansfor processing the network security information comprises at least oneof: means for processing the packet using role based access control,means for moving the network security information to a layer-2 header ofthe packet, and means for removing the network security information fromthe packet.
 26. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising: means forobtaining the identification information, wherein the means forobtaining the identification information comprises a least one of: meansfor configuring an egress node of the first network to recognize theidentification information, means for using a network protocol todistribute the identification information, and means for storing theidentification information at a management station.
 27. The apparatus ofclaim 26, wherein the means for storing the identification informationat the management station further comprises: means for including theidentification information in an identification information list. 28.The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the identification information is adestination prefix, and the routing information of the packet is aportion of a destination address of the packet.
 29. A computer programproduct comprising: a first set of instructions, executable on acomputer system, configured to detect a packet exiting a first networkand entering a second network, wherein the first network is configuredto support a network security technique, and the second network is notconfigured to support the network security technique; a second set ofinstructions, executable on the computer system, configured to includenetwork security information with the packet, wherein the networksecurity information is associated with the network security technique;and computer readable media, wherein the computer program product isencoded in the computer readable media.
 30. The computer program productof claim 29, wherein the second set of instructions comprises: a firstsubset of instructions, executable on the computer system, configured tomove the network security information from a first location in packetoverhead to a second location in the packet overhead, wherein the secondlocation in the packet overhead does not affect forwarding of the packetfrom the second network to a third network.
 31. The computer programproduct of claim 30, wherein the first, second and third networks arelayer-2 networks, the first network and the second network are coupledwith a first layer-3 router, and the second network and the thirdnetwork are coupled with a second layer-3 router.
 32. The computerprogram product of claim 31, wherein the second location in the packetoverhead does not affect the second layer-3 router's ability to processthe packet; and the second layer-3 router is not configured to processthe network security information.
 33. The computer program product ofclaim 32, wherein a layer-2 header of the packet comprises the firstlocation in the packet overhead, and a layer-3 header of the packetcomprises the second location in the packet overhead.
 34. The computerprogram product of claim 29, wherein the network security informationcomprises a security group tag.
 35. The computer program product ofclaim 29, further comprising: a third set of instructions, executable onthe computer system, configured to determine whether the packet will beprocessed by a network node capable of processing the network securityinformation before reaching a destination of the packet, wherein thenetwork node is within a third network.
 36. The computer program productof claim 35, wherein the third set of instructions further comprises: afirst subset of instructions, executable on the computer system,configured to determine whether a perimeter device of the third networkis capable of processing the network security information.
 37. Thecomputer program product of claim 36, further comprising: a fourth setof instructions, executable on the computer system, configured todetermine whether identification information of the third networkmatches routing information of the packet.
 38. The computer programproduct of claim 37, further comprising: a fifth set of instructions,executable on the computer system, configured to detect the packetexiting the second network and entering a third network wherein thethird network employs the network security technique; and a sixth set ofinstructions, executable on the computer system, configured to processthe network security information.
 39. The computer program product ofclaim 38, wherein the sixth set of instructions comprises at least oneof: a second subset of instructions, executable on the computer system,configured to process the packet using role based access control, athird subset of instructions, executable on the computer system,configured to move the network security information to a layer-2 headerof the packet, and a fourth subset of instructions, executable on thecomputer system, configured to remove the network security informationfrom the packet.
 40. The computer program product of claim 37, furthercomprising: a seventh set of instructions, executable on the computersystem, configured to obtain the identification information, wherein theseventh set of instructions comprises a least one of: a second subset ofinstructions, executable on the computer system, configured to configurean egress node of the first network to recognize the identificationinformation, a third subset of instructions, executable on the computersystem, configured to use a network protocol to distribute theidentification information, and a fourth subset of instructions,executable on the computer system, configured to store theidentification information at a management station.
 41. The computerprogram product of claim 40, wherein the fourth subset of instructionsfurther comprises: a fifth subset of instructions, executable on thecomputer system, configured to include the identification information inan identification information list.
 42. The computer program product ofclaim 37, wherein the identification information is a destinationprefix, and the routing information of the packet is a portion of adestination address of the packet.
 43. An apparatus comprising: a firstnetwork device configured to include network security information inoverhead of a packet in the event of the packet being conveyed from thefirst network device to a second network device, wherein the firstnetwork device supports a first network protocol layer, and the secondnetwork device is incapable of processing the network securityinformation.
 44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the second networkdevice is configured to support at least one of: the first networkprotocol layer, and a second network protocol layer.
 45. The apparatusof claim 44, wherein the first network device is configured to processthe packet using role based access control.
 46. The apparatus of claim44, wherein the first network device is configured to move the networksecurity information to a new location in the overhead of the packet,wherein the new location in the overhead of the packet does not affectforwarding of the packet by the second network device.
 47. The apparatusof claim 46, wherein the first network device is configured to move thenetwork security information to a location in the overhead of the packetthat is accessible to a third network device, wherein the third networkdevice is capable of processing the network security information. 48.The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the first network protocol layer is alayer-3 network protocol, and the second network protocol layer is alayer-2 network protocol.
 49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein thesecond network device is a layer-2 switch.
 50. The apparatus of claim49, wherein the network security information comprises a security grouptag.
 51. A method comprising: identifying a first network device in anetwork, and communicating identification information to a secondnetwork device in the network, wherein the identification information isassociated with the first network device, the first and second networkdevices are each capable of processing network security information, anda third network device within the network is incapable of processing thenetwork security information.
 52. The method of claim 51, furthercomprising: including the identification information in anidentification information list; and storing the identificationinformation list at a network management station.
 53. The method ofclaim 52, wherein the network security information comprises a securitygroup tag.
 54. The method of claim 52, wherein the identificationinformation is a destination prefix.
 55. The method of claim 52, furthercomprising: including the network security information in a location ina packet that is accessible by the second network device.
 56. The methodof claim 55, wherein the including the network security information isperformed by the first network device.